BRADFORD, Pa. - Verizon Online is raising the speed limit in the McKean County towns of Eldred and Mount Jewett with the introduction of its super-fast digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet access service for consumers and businesses.

Verizon Pennsylvania is aggressively rolling out DSL services to consumers and businesses in its rural, suburban and urban service areas. This service is now available in 83 percent of Verizon's call-switching centers, serving about 67 percent of the company's phone lines. Verizon's supercharged service now includes MSN 8 software for consumers and a higher connection speed on qualified lines. In addition, Verizon has dropped the monthly price for residential customers.

"Verizon Online offers an unbeatable combination of affordable high-speed Internet access, and compelling content, services and packaging," said James V. O'Rourke, president of Verizon Pennsylvania. "Super-fast DSL enables subscribers to take full advantage of the Internet for banking, telecommuting, shopping, online games and countless other uses. Now our customers in Eldred and Mount Jewett can enjoy the benefits of high-speed Internet access and all the other great features of Verizon Online DSL with MSN 8.

"This strong DSL deployment program is part of Verizon's nearly $8 billion investment in its Pennsylvania telecommunications network over the past nine years," O'Rourke said. "Pennsylvanians benefit from one of the most technologically advanced networks in the country, with more than 1.1 million miles of fiber optics spanning the commonwealth."

New Verizon Online Consumer DSL Plans

Verizon Online offers a choice of DSL Internet access service:

$34.95 a month for stand-alone DSL Internet access with connection speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps (megabits per second) downstream and 128Kbps (kilobits per second) upstream

$29.95 a month as part of a qualifying local and long-distance Verizon package with maximum connection speeds of 1.5Mbps/128Kbps

The first month is free when customers order DSL online at www.verizon.net. All Verizon Online DSL consumer packages include:

A free do-it-yourself installation kit with a DSL modem

10 MB (megabytes) of Web storage

30 MB of e-mail storage in the primary account and eight additional e-mail boxes, each with 10 MB of storage

Customers can be billed on their monthly Verizon telephone bill or a credit card. All packages come with a 30-day, money-back guarantee.

Local Verizon telephone customers can order DSL service or get more information by going online at www.verizon.net or by calling Verizon at 1-800-567-6789.

Share the Connection

Verizon Online DSL customers can share their high-speed connection with other computers with a Linksys' wired ($99.95) or wireless router ($149.95). Both products allow customers to link multiple home or business desktop and laptop computers from one DSL connection. Also, printers, scanners and files can be shared by creating a local area network (LAN). Setting up a network helps to provide a built-in firewall. There's no additional monthly charge for networking.

Verizon Online Business DSL Service

Verizon Online offers five DSL packages to meet the broadband needs of businesses. These packages range from maximum connection speeds of 1.5Mbps downstream and 128Kbps upstream to 7.1Mbps downstream and 768Kbps upstream. Prices range from $59.95 to $234.95 a month, with an annual contract.

Additional DSL discounts are available to businesses that subscribe to a bundle of Verizon business-level services.

All DSL business packages include the high-speed connection, four domain name e-mail boxes (yourname@yourcompany.com), and 20 hours of free remote dial-up access.

Technical Definitions

DSL service generally is available to homes and offices located within approximately three miles of Verizon's local switching center or "central office." Some technical limitations may interfere with the ability of individual telephone lines to get DSL, even when the lines are within three miles of a DSL-equipped central office.

Downstream and upstream speeds describing Verizon Online's DSL services are maximum connection speeds between the customer's computer and Verizon's DSL equipment. Actual connection speeds may vary from the maximum speeds and may be lower than the advertised line rate. Throughput (download and upload) speeds will be lower than connection speeds and vary based on the telephone line's condition and distance from Verizon's central office, home or office wiring and the server or router speed of sites visited on the Internet, among other factors.

Verizon Online is a full-service Internet service provider, offering a complete selection of dial-up, DSL and dedicated Internet access services for residential consumers and businesses. Verizon Online DSL service is available in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

Verizon Communications

A Fortune 10 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services, with approximately $67 billion in revenues and 221,000 employees. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 137.6 million access line equivalents and 34.6 million Verizon Wireless customers. Verizon is the third largest long-distance carrier for U.S. consumers, with 14.6 million long-distance lines. The company is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. Verizon's international presence includes wireline and wireless communications operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.